Stockholm
by pikapikatchu
Summary: Greg and Ray find themselves in a dangerous hostage situation and it seems like the hostage takers are not the only danger. Will everybody make it out alive? And what does Nick have to do with this criminals?
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys!

I wrote a new story, I hope you'll like it.

Enjoy!

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><p>"They tried to open it, right here."<p>

"And how did they get in?" Ray asked the bank manager, Mr. Peyton.

"I have no idea! We have an alarm system and I don't think there's a way to get into this bank without setting it off!" Mr. Peyton replied desperate.

"Inside job, maybe?" Greg asked while taking a look around. They were standing in front of the vault. The door to the vault had visible tool marks all over. Obviously, they weren't able to get into the vault. "Or maybe through one of these windows? Are they connected to the alarm system?" He pointed his flash light on very small windows. It was hard to imagine that a person would fit through it, but it might be possible, he thought.

"I don't know, but I can check with the security company." Mr. Peyton went over to his office, only a few feet away from the vault.

"Did you find anything useful yet?" Greg went over to Ray.

"They didn't leave any fingerprints behind, but a shoe print." Ray pointed down on the ground. "I also found..." He was distracted by loud noise coming from the lobby. "What was that?" Noticing that Greg, again, didn't carry a gun, he told him to stay there while he went to check it out.

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><p>It was silent now. Greg didn't hear any noise coming from the lobby. He was sure Ray had everything under control, but was wondering what happened. "Mr. Peyton, please stay in your office, I just want to check on my partner," he said while walking towards the door.<p>

"What's going on?" Mr. Peyton asked, looking out the office.

"I'm sure everything's fine," Greg said with a smile on his face while opening the door.

"Stop!" a masked man yelled at him, standing in the door.

Greg quickly got his hands up. He sure didn't expect to see this on the other side of the door.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, pointing his gun at him.

"I-I'm with the crime lab," Greg responded nervously.

"You have a gun like your friend out there?"

He shook his head.

The man patted him down, anyways. "Is someone with you?"

"The bank manager is in his office."

"Come on." The masked man grabbed Greg's arm and they went into the office. "Open the vault!" he demanded.

Mr. Peyton opened the vault with shaking hands.

The masked man pushed both Greg and Mr. Peyton into the vault and threw three bags to them. "Fill them up with money, and make it quick!" he said, standing outside the vault and pointing his gun at them. They both did and they had to carry the bags for the masked man.

"Come on, let's get to the lobby."

* * *

><p>When they walked in, Ray was pointing a gun at the other, now unarmed, masked robber.<p>

"What's going on?" the masked man, walking in with Greg and the bank manager, yelled surprised, pointing his gun at Ray.

"The police is on the way. Put your gun down," Ray replied in a calm voice.

"YOU put the gun down!" he yelled threatening, standing several feet away from Ray and his partner in crime.

Greg didn't know what to do. Would he be able to disarm the man? The man was about as tall as he was and didn't look too strong, but still, Greg didn't dare trying. Ray slowly shook his head, letting Greg know he shouldn't try to disarm the masked man.

Unfortunately, Mr. Peyton did. He tackled the man, but wasn't able to overpower him. After a short tussle, in which Greg took part of, trying to help Mr. Peyton, the man fired a shot. It hit Mr. Peyton in the chest.

Screams were heard in the bank, everybody got down, covering their ears.

Ray quickly pointed his gun at the shooter, ready to take him out.

"Don't!" the man yelled, grabbing Greg and using him as a human shield, putting the barrel of the gun on him.

At the same moment, the other bank robber pulled out another gun, pointing it at Ray. "Put your gun down, now," he said rather calm.

Ray sighed, more annoyed than scared. "Give up, the police is already coming. You hear the sirens?"

"Put your gun down or my partner will shoot him!" the masked man, pointing his gun at Ray, yelled.

"You really don't want to shoot anyone working for the police," Greg whispered to the man pointing the gun at him.

"Shut up!" he yelled, pressing the barrel of his gun on Greg's neck with more pressure. Greg's cell phone rang, causing the masked man to startle. "What the hell's that?"

"My phone... They probably want to talk to you..."

Four police cars were standing outside the bank now, with Detective Reed trying to call Greg.

"Answer it!" the man pointing his gun at Ray said.

Greg did. "Sanders."

"_Thank god you're okay! How many are there?"_ Reed asked.

"Two." When Greg said that, the robber hit him with his gun on the head, causing Greg to drop the cell phone and slumping to the ground.

"_Greg?"_

"Who told you to answer any questions? You, get me the phone!" he said to one of the hostages. The hostage reluctantly got up to pick the phone up from the floor and handed it to the robber with shaking hands, quickly running back to where he was sitting before.

"Let us leave the bank without any problems," he said, talking on the phone.

"_Release the hostages first,"_ Reed answered.

"We won't hurt them if you just let us go."

"_Is everyone okay?"_

"Yeah."

"_Let me talk to one of the CSIs and I'll do my best to get you out of there."_

He thought for a moment, then covered the speaker with his hand and said to Greg, "One word about any injuries and I'll shoot one of the hostages, you understand?"

Greg nodded, looking at Mr. Peyton, lying on the floor bleeding.

"This is Greg."

"_Greg, did they hurt anyone? Are the hostages okay?"_

"They're all scared, but... no one got hurt. Yet."

The masked man grinned.

"Just let them go, they're harmless," Greg said, hoping Reed would understand that that's how he tried to let her know they're dangerous. He hoped she knew he'd never refer to armed robbers as harmless, and she did.

"_Alright, thanks. Hang in there."_ She hung up.

"You're not going to get off that easily," Ray said aggressively. "Release the hostages now!"

Greg was getting angry with Ray. Aggressive behavior towards the hostage takers didn't help right now. Let Reed take care of it, he thought. Hostage situations usually had a happy ending as long as everybody tried not to upset the hostage takers. And right now, Ray seemed to do anything possible to upset them.

"Oh yeah? You're not the one in charge here, so shut up!" one of the men yelled. "How about you put down the gun and sit down next to the others? I'll let your friend do the same, then," he said, pressing his gun against Greg's neck.

It was obvious in Greg's face that this hurt him, but Ray didn't really seem to care. "I'm not gonna put my gun down."

"Yeah well, me neither. But maybe my finger will slip and pull the trigger. I don't think that'll be too good for your friend here, right?" he said grinning, using more pressure against Greg's neck.

"Jesus Christ, Ray! Put your gun down!" Greg said nervously.

"One shot. That's all it needs for the police out there to storm the bank. You really don't want that, so keep your finger far away from the trigger." Ray sounded quite confident.

He was right. Of course it would be stupid to start shooting right now, but Greg wasn't willing to trust that the robbers won't do anything rash without considering the consequences. Ray, on the other hand, didn't seem to have a problem trusting. It wasn't his life on the line, though, Greg thought.

Both the robbers and Ray and Greg noticed that the hostages were getting more and more nervous and anxious. They also heard noises coming from the vault, where Greg and the armed man were just coming from.

"Shit! Are they already inside?" the masked man said nervous.

"Go and check it out!" the other one said.

"You'll stay here," Ray said, still having the masked man at gunpoint. "You're not going anywhere."

"We'll see about that," he replied, feeling challenged by Ray. He placed Greg right in front of him, going out the room with him as a shield.

And now, the other masked man was still pointing his gun at Ray, but Ray didn't point his at anyone.

"Heh. What are you gonna do now, huh?" the masked man said mocking.

But Ray just grinned unimpressed.


	2. Chapter 2

The masked man made his way to the vault, with Greg walking before him. They expected to find police officers coming in from a back door, but instead found two armed men trying to get out through the small windows.

"Hey, you!" he yelled, pointing his gun towards them.

They rose their hands quickly. "Please don't shoot!"

"Who the hell are you?"

"We... we wanted to rob the bank..." one of them said, sounding real scared.

"How did you get in here?" the masked man asked.

"Through these windows." The men both were slender. "When we noticed that a robbery was already in progress, we tried to get out! But we couldn't... We didn't fit through the windows anymore... Please, don't hurt us."

A weird silent moment followed.

The masked man rolled his eyes. "You got to be kidding me... Alright, give me your guns."

"Sure... sure..." they said, slowly putting their hands on their guns. Instead of handing them over, they both pointed their gun at him.

The masked man pulled Greg closer to him, with his arm around Greg's chest. "Don't you dare! I'll shoot him!" he yelled threatening.

"You're not gonna hurt him. We won't let you do that. Put your gun down!"

The masked man put his gun down. "You'll regret this..."

One of the other guys took the gun and pointed it at him. "Yeah well, I'm not so sure about that." He grinned. "How many are out there?" he said, looking at Greg.

"Just one," Greg said quietly. He was confused. The masked man gave in pretty quickly.

The two wannabe robbers laughed. "Cool. Let's meet him." One of them grabbed Greg, his partner grabbed the masked man and all four men walked back into the lobby.

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><p><p>

"Reed!" Catherine was walking up to her. "How are they?"

"I talked to Greg on the phone. We're doing our best to get everyone out there safe," she replied.

"Can I talk to him?"

Reed shook her head. "We don't have a connection to them at the moment."

Nick ran up to them a few minutes later. "Are they okay?"

"We don't know," Catherine said with sadness in her voice. "Where's Sara?"

"On her way. What can I do to help?"

"Right now, I think it's best for us not to stand in the way and let them do their job..."

* * *

><p><p>

The masked man entered, with one of the wannabe robbers behind him, his partner walking next to him with Greg.

"What the hell...?" Ray said confused. He was able to disarm the one robber and was just about to start releasing the hostages. Some of them had bruises on their faces. When Greg and the other robber left, his partner beat some of the hostages for no obvious reason. It was when he covered up the security cameras that Ray was able to overpower him.

"Who the hell's this guy?" the man behind Greg asked angrily.

"He's my colleague..." he replied sheepishly.

"You didn't say anything about any colleagues!" he said annoyed.

Ray pointed his gun at him. "Who are you?"

"Let's just say we're the ones in charge now. Hand me the money!" he yelled, pointing his gun at Ray.

Still pointing the gun in their direction, Ray took the bag with the money and threw it to them.

He picked up the bag. "Nice. Now put your gun down."

Ray hesitated for a moment, but put his gun down, after all, seeing that there was no chance to overpower them, and kicked it towards them.

They tied up the masked robbers and pushed Greg to the other hostages. "Don't try anything, alright?" When they noticed that Ray and Greg were sitting together, one of them said, "No! I don't want you two together!"

"...Excuse me?" Greg asked confused.

"I don't want you two to... plan something or anything like that. No!" He grabbed Greg's arm and walked him a few feet away from Ray. "And I don't want to see you two communicate in ANY way, you got that?"

He nodded.

The clerks and customers of the bank were all cowering behind the counter, but Greg and Ray were both in front of it, as well as the masked men. Just now the hostage takers noticed Mr. Peyton, who was lying on the floor, bleeding. "What happened to him?"

"He got shot. He needs medical attention, there's not much we can do for him here," Ray replied. "Can I please take care of him?"

"But no tricks..."

Ray walked over to him and applied pressure to the wound. "We need to get him to a hospital, he lost a lot of blood..."

"Too bad for him," he said, looking pitiful.

"You're not gonna get him out of here?" Greg asked astonished.

"We can't risk that. The police will storm in once these doors open!"

Greg shook his head. "They won't if we tell them to stay out. But he needs to get to a hospital, or else he'll die."

The robbers looked at each other.

"Alright, you two." The robber pointed at two male hostages. "It's your lucky day."

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><p><p>

Reed's phone rang. "Hello? Alright, we're ready..."

"Who was that?" Catherine asked nervously.

"Greg. One of the hostages is injured, two other hostages are bringing him out."

Catherine nodded. "Is there any way to use this opportunity to get them all out?"

"No, we have no idea what we're dealing with right now. It's too risky."

Several police officers were in position, with their guns pointing towards the doors to the bank. They were all wearing bullet proof vests.

"It's taking too long!" Nick said annoyed. "We have to get them out of there!"

"I know that," Reed replied. "There's nothing we can do at the moment. We don't even know with how many we're dealing with, we don't know enough yet. At least they're getting a hostage out."

"Yeah, an injured one. Who knows what's happening in there."

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><p><p>

"Okay, get him out. Go!" The two hostages carried Mr. Peyton out, and the robbers told Ray and Greg to quickly close the doors again. "Alright, now that we dealt with this, it's time they do something for us." One of them dialed Reed's number with Greg's phone.

"_He's on his way to the hospital,"_ she said over the phone.

"That's nice to hear. And now that you got three hostages, we want something from you," the robber said cocky.

"_Alright. What do you want?"_

"We're getting hungry."

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><p><p>

Ray, Greg and the other hostages were in that bank for five hours now. The two hostage takers were sitting with the hostages eating pizza while Ray and Greg had to sit several feet away. They had no idea why they were separated while the masked men were with the others, but the hostage takers made sure to always keep an eye on them.

"I don't think it'll last too long now," one of the hostage takers said to the hostages. "We're really sorry you all have to go through this, but we didn't know what else to do." He went on to explain why they tried to rob the bank. "I was in jail, you know... For something I didn't do. They had evidence proving my innocence, but it was dismissed in court, due to some formalities..." He was close to tears now. "I was released a few years later when they found the guy who really did it. But do you think I find work after I've been to jail, whether or not I did it? Of course not! Nobody cares that I have to take care of my three children."

Some of the hostages nodded sympathetically.

"The cops who arrested me beat me up... They didn't even ask any questions. I fit the description, so I did it, they thought. Just like him." He pointed at Ray. "Points his gun at us without knowing who we are."

The other hostage taker told the hostages the story about how the police killed his four year old daughter. "They were chasing after some bad guys when they ran over my wife and kid... My wife survived injured, but my daughter..." he said, fighting back tears.

Neither Greg nor Ray knew if these stories were true, but Ray knew what they were up to.

They kept talking with the hostages for another hour. Some of the hostages shared their stories about how the police did them wrong and they seemed to bond with the hostage takers.

After one of them came back with a bunch of the hostages after they were allowed to use the bathroom, he picked up the phone. "Detective, we're going to need a car. Tinted windows."

"_Alright, but you need to give me another hostage."_

"I'm offering you two."


	3. Chapter 3

Not many Ray-fans out there, huh? Then I guess you'll like this chapter! ;)

Enjoy!

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><p>Another three hours passed by. Boredom was now stronger than fear for Ray and Greg. They both could feel how the mood changed over the hours. At first, all the hostages were scared and thought that, if someone in here could help them, it was Greg and Ray. But now they both felt the hostage's eyes all over them, in a negative way. They now sympathized with the hostage takers and felt that Greg and Ray were the bad guys in that situation.<p>

"Why are they looking at us that way?" Greg whispered to Ray confused.

"It's called Stockholm Syndrome. They're sympathizing with the hostage takers."

"Why? I mean, I've heard about it, but I never understood how that could happen."

"We've been in here for, what, nine hours? From inside it looks like the police isn't doing anything to help us, but the hostage takers play nice. They saved them from more violent robbers. They give them food, let them go to the bathroom. They even released three hostages and they don't show any signs of aggression towards them. And then they try to bond with them by telling them some stories about how the police did them wrong. They're victimizing themselves and the hostages feel for them. It's fascinating to watch."

"Yeah... I'm thrilled," Greg replied sarcastically. "I just want to get out of here, I can't take this any longer."

"Calm down, don't panic. Everything's going to be fine, they don't gain anything from hurting anyone in here. They'd lose the hostages' affection."

"I know, I... I just need to get out of here... I can't sit around here for another few hours..." Greg was getting anxious.

Ray feared he might be having a panic attack. "Take long, deep breaths, Greg. It's gonna be fine," he said, trying to soothe him, and it worked.

When the hostages noticed Ray whispering to Greg, trying to comfort him, one of them walked over to them. "What are you talking about?"

Ray and Greg looked up to him, then looked a bit confused at the hostage takers. They didn't seem to care that the hostages were walking around, though.

"I asked you what you're talking about. Are you planning to get out of here? You probably wouldn't care if you'd kill us with your plan, right?"

"We're not planning anything. Please stay calm, Sir. The police will get us out of here eventually," Ray responded.

"Yeah right. Like they did in that hostage situation two weeks ago in Texas, right? All hostages but one died, as did the hostage takers! That's how the police are handling things?" he said quite angrily.

"They're doing their best to get us out of here safe. All of us," Ray said as he looked at the hostage takers.

"Well, I for one am sick of waiting for the police to storm this bank and kill us all!" he said with threatening gestures towards Ray and Greg. Another hostage walked up to them.

Ray stood up, trying to deescalate the situation. "Whatever you think, how the police did you wrong, doesn't matter. We're not police officers. We're CSIs, scientists."

"Scientists." One of the hostage takers laughed humorlessly, standing several feet away from them. "Did you ever plant evidence to get a conviction? Like they did in my case? Took my lawyers three years to convince them that I couldn't have done it because I had an alibi!"

Greg stood up as well, trying to support Ray. "If this is what happened to you, it's very unfortunate. But that's not how we do our work."

"IF?" one of the hostages said, standing up and walking over to them. "What do you mean, IF? You don't believe him?"

"No, I..." Greg was interrupted by a third hostage.

"Typical for the police. They make a mistake and won't even admit to it! That's exactly what happened to my cousin!" The hostage walked over to them as well.

Ray and Greg felt quite threatened from these hostages surrounding them. They also felt helpless, they had no idea what they could do to calm them down.

"Alright, let's all calm down... We're on your side," Ray said, hoping this would help.

It didn't.

"On OUR side? Bullshit! The police only cares for the police! You'd sacrifice us if it meant you'd get out of here five minutes earlier! You're the reason these men feel a bank robbery is the only way to support their families!"

"It's not our fault that..." Ray was silenced by being pushed against the wall.

"Hey, easy, now," Greg said, trying to intervene. But he was being pushed against the wall, too.

With their backs hugging the wall now, they had no idea what to do. One wrong word or one wrong move and the situation could escalate.

"Please... Calm down." Greg said with an insecure smile.

"I wonder if he begged like that before the cops roughed him up," one of the hostages said, pointing at the hostage taker.

Four hostages helped pinning the CSIs against the wall. Knowing fighting back would only make them more aggressive, Greg didn't move, but Ray tried to fight them off. Two more hostages assisted, trying to keep Ray pinned to the wall.

"Get off of me!" he yelled, shoving two of the attackers to the ground. Because of this, one of the others punched him in the face. The others came at him as well.

"No!" Greg yelled, trying to get out of their grip in order to help Ray.

While they were attacking Ray, the others held Greg back. They were punching and kicking Ray while he was already on the ground.

"Stop it!" Greg yelled desperately, still trying to fight them off. Instead of being able to break free from them and help Ray, he received a beating himself. They both struggled, but succumbed to them. All their effort to fight them off failed, and it ended in both of them lying on the ground beaten and battered.

"Okay, that's it," one of the hostage takers said calmly, walking up to them. "Let go of them."

The hostages stepped aside, making room for the hostage taker to take a look at the bruised CSIs.

"Are you two alright?" he asked.

Greg slowly sat up and helped Ray do the same. Ray received a far more aggressive beating, he was ravaged far worse than Greg.

Greg nodded rather exhausted. Ray just leaned with his back against the wall, closing his eyes.

"Good. People, I don't want something like this to happen again. We need to work together here!"

"Together? With them?" one of the hostages said mocking.

"Who knows, they might be of help later..."

* * *

><p>An hour later, over ten hours in this situations, the phone rang.<p>

"You got my car?"

"_This is Captain Jim Brass. We have a car waiting for you outside. How many people are in there with you?"_

"...22... Including your men."

"_Now release some hostages."_

"I changed my mind. You got me the car, fine. But I want your men gone from the entrance. At least a 100 yard. We need to be able to get in that car without fearing to get shot. Leave."

"_We can't do that and you know that."_

"Fine. Just so you know, trying to shoot one of us is unhealthy for the hostages. " He hung up.

The hostage taker went to get one of the cell phones he had everyone give up and used it to take a picture of Ray's bruised face.

"What are you doing?" Greg asked confused.

"Shut up." He turned around to the hostages. "You." He pointed at a young woman in the group. "Thank you for being so cooperative in the last hours. Take this and hand it to Captain Brass, show him the picture, alright?"

She nodded, smiled and went out.

A few minutes later the phone rang. "Hey Jim."

"_Okay, got your message. Thanks for the hostage, though. But you promised me two."_

"You'll get the second hostage when your men leave."

"_That wasn't the deal. You got your car and promised to give me two hostages. I need to trust your word, or else negotiating with you is pointless."_

"Okay, fair enough. I'll release another hostage. Maybe another pretty girl."

"_How about you give me Ray Langston, the CSI you roughed up."_

"Release your men?" the hostage taker said, loud enough for all the hostages to hear. "That's all you care about, right? As soon as they're safe you'll start a suicide mission, huh? I'm gonna send out another hostage, like I promised." He hung up on Brass.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ray, are you alright?" Greg whispered to him. Ray didn't look too well, he could hardly sit up straight. He had bruises all over his face and his ribs hurt. Just a few minutes ago, though, he looked much better.

"I think they fractured my cheekbone..." he said weakly. He was also bleeding from the head, which wasn't a good sign.

"You need to get out of here and get medical help..." Greg replied, thinking of ways to get him out.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." He smiled weakly. "How about you?"

"I'm fine, it's not me I'm worried about right now." Greg only suffered a black eye, a bloody nose and his wrist was strained. "I can't believe the hostages did that..."

"It's not their fault. They're under a lot of stress and being brainwashed by the bad guys..."

"Don't try to find any excuses for what they did. The hostage takers never told them to beat us." Greg found it hard to be understanding right now. He was too angry. "I don't think the hostage takers would harm anyone, actually."

Ray laughed a bit, with his eyes closed and his head leaning against the wall. "Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?"

"No..." Greg laughed, too. "When I was back there with them, the masked guy threatened to shoot me if they didn't put their guns down. They said they're not gonna let him do it and he put his gun down. It was a weird situation, but I don't think they intent to harm anyone... Maybe I could..."

"Don't even think about it!" Ray said, raising his voice a bit. "It's two against one, I can't help you. Don't try anything, just let the police do their job. They're gonna get us out of here."

"But when? It's taking too long already, I don't think I can take another ten hours sitting around in here..."

"Greg, look at me. It's not gonna take another ten hours. We're gonna get out of here soon. Just stay calm and don't upset the hostages in any way. They're the one you have to look out for..." As Ray was talking, Greg noticed something was wrong with him.

"Ray? Ray, are you okay?"

"Mhm..." he said weakly, closing his eyes again. "I'm just dizzy."

"I don't care how long I have to sit around in here, but you need to get out now." Greg slowly stood up and walked towards the hostage taker. Some of the hostages quickly walked over to him quite aggressively, so he reached out his hands defensive, gesturing that he didn't want to do anything but talk. They backed off a bit, but watched him.

"He needs to get out of here... His cheek bone is fractured and he has a laceration on his head. Please, let him go."

The hostage taker laughed. "Why should I? He brought this on himself."

"A dead hostage isn't of any use for you and you know that."

"He's not dying, is he?" he replied amused. He was the more aggressive hostage taker. He told the hostages his name was Gus. A made-up name, of course. The more sensitive, caring hostage taker named himself Corey.

"Look at him! He can't even sit straight! He could have a brain swelling or internal bleeding. People die from beatings like that all the time! Please!"

The hostage taker rolled his eyes, walked over to a first aid kit behind the counter and threw it to Greg. "That should keep you busy for a while."

Both desperate and annoyed, Greg walked back to Ray and tried to help him with this kit as good as he could. All he could do with this, though, was to try stop the bleeding. "I'm sorry, I tried my best, but..."

One of the female hostages walked over to Gus. "Maybe we should get him some medical help..."

"You know what? Maybe you're right. We should all take a vote. Who thinks the police guy should get out of here to get patched up?"

Seven of the 21 hostages raised their hands, including Greg and Ray. But of course, their votes didn't count.

"Five against 14. I think it's quite obvious what we want. He stays."

"That's it? We vote and now we risk letting him die here for no reason?" the hostage asked irritated.

"It's called democracy. And he won't die, sweetheart."

* * *

><p>Ray seemed to be getting weaker by the minute. Greg couldn't help him, he needed medical help.<p>

The hostage taker, Corey, walked up to them. "How is he?"

"Worse than half an hour ago," Greg replied, not looking at him, but concentrating on Ray instead.

"Mhm. I think it's better we get him out of here." They were in that bank for over 12 hours now.

Greg almost smiled. He was glad Ray was finally getting the medical help he needed so badly.

"Why don't you just let someone else go, instead?" Ray said weakly.

"Ray, don't be ridiculous. You need to get to a hospital," Greg said, trying to convince him of leaving.

"Please, let someone else go. How about her?" He pointed at the young woman who asked the hostage taker earlier to get Ray out.

Corey rolled his eyes. "There's no need to play the hero now. They're all gonna get out of here soon, without a scratch. You, on the other hand, really should see a doctor. You're useless for us." He waved at one of the hostages. "You, help him out of here."

Before Ray got up, he turned to Greg and weakly patted him on the shoulder. "It's gonna be fine, you'll get out of here. Just stay calm," he whispered.

"Don't worry about me, Ray. Just get better," he responded. He gave him a faint smile, pretending that it was okay for him to be in this situation all by himself. It wasn't, but he knew Ray needed to get out. Also, he kind of believed the hostage taker when he said that nobody's going to get hurt. At least he wanted to believe that.

Corey walked up to Ray. "Please tell Jim that we're not going to hurt any of these hostages. I promise."

Before he let Ray leave, he called Brass. "I'm sending out the injured CSI to show my sincerity."

The doors opened and a hostage walked out with Ray. He handed Ray over to the paramedics.

"Come on," two police officers wanted to walk the hostage into safety, but he refused. "I'm going back inside. Just let them leave without a problem." He gave Brass an angry look and walked back in.


	5. Chapter 5

As happy as Greg was that Ray had gotten the help he needed, as scared was he now that he was all alone. He decided to keep a low profile and do anything not to upset anyone, neither the hostage takers, nor the hostages. Just wait until it's over, he thought.

As Greg was sitting there, bored, nervous, scared and impatient, leaning his head against the wall and staring at the clock, six hostages, both men and women, walked over to him. He quickly got up, looking scared, fearing to receive another beating, or even worse.

"No," one of the female hostages said, "We don't want to hurt you. We want to talk to you."

Greg looked at them both confused and distrustful.

They sat down and asked him to do the same. He did, still looking distrustful, trying to keep a distance. Why would they suddenly want to chat with him, he thought.

"One of the others mentioned a hostage situation in Texas, where everybody but one died last week..." the female hostage said, "Do you know what went wrong?"

Greg looked at them baffled. "Well... I've heard about it on the news, but... I don't think the hostage taker ever planned to leave the building alive..."

"But didn't the police shoot him and some of the hostages?" one of the male hostages asked.

"I think he started shooting the hostages when the police tried to get in, and then shot himself," Greg said, trying to explain the situation. "That's what they said on the news."

"How do you usually handle these situations? Are they planning to storm the bank right now or do they wait until the hostage takers want to leave?"

They all seemed to have many questions Greg didn't really have an answer to. "You know, I'm not a cop, I'm a CSI. I don't deal with these kind of situations... But the police always wants to have a happy ending. They want to get everybody out alive and right now they're working hard to help us."

"Oh yeah? How? We're in here for hours and nobody tried to free us yet," a male hostage replied. He was one of the guys that beat up Greg and Ray.

"I... I don't know how to answer that question, I'm sorry... I know they try to negotiate with them, try to get them to give up..."

"That's it? And if they won't give up, what then?"

"I don't know... I'm sorry..."

"You don't know," the hostage laughed humorlessly. "Well then, how often do hostage takers surrender? How often do the hostages get shot?"

"Depending on the hostage taker's agenda, they usually give up. It's rare that hostages die. It's important to stay calm, though."

"We are calm. It's not exactly these guys we worry about," he pointed at the hostage takers. "I'm scared that the police will storm the bank and kill us all."

Greg shook his head. "That's not gonna happen. They won't risk any lives. As long as the hostage takers don't do anything to give the impression that we're in immediate danger, they'll stay out of here."

"So... If we want them to rescue us, we need to get in immediate danger?" one of the female hostages asked.

"What?" the man said, "You'd rather endanger yourself than wait for this to end?"

"Wait for what? It's already taking too long, I want to get home to my kids. They only need to fire one shot, right? And they'll storm in?"

"...I don't think it's a good idea to provoke..." Greg stopped talking when the male hostage attacked the woman.

"You're NOT gonna risk our lives so that you can get out of here!" he yelled, grabbing her face.

"Don't!" Greg yelled, grabbing the man by the shoulder and pulling him off of the woman. A short scuffle between Greg, the man and two other hostages followed. For a change, the hostages were on Greg's side.

Gus, the more aggressive hostage taker, walked up to them. "Stop it," he said with a calm but determined voice.

They did.

"I don't want to see something like this again, am I clear? I overheard your conversation. No one's going to get hurt. I don't gain anything from hurting you people. I need you, and you need me. It's best if we work together, okay?" He helped the woman up with a smile on his face. "You want to get home to your kids, you say?"

She nodded with tears in her eyes.

"People, this won't take much longer now. But I will need your help." He went on to explain his plan.

Much to his surprise, the hostages didn't like it and didn't want to help him.

"They'll just shoot us! They don't care about who they take down, they just want YOU dead, no matter what!" one of the hostages argued.

"No. They're reckless most of the time, but there are news cameras out there! They wouldn't dare killing innocent people in front of the cameras. Trust me, it'll work."

Some of the hostages shook their heads. They didn't want to do this, but others, like the woman, nodded.

"Alright, I'm in," some of them said.

Finally!

Greg was at least as excited as worried. The hostage takers decided to finally end this. But how? He wasn't in on the plan. He just hoped it would end without anyone getting hurt. The hostage takers didn't show too much aggressive behavior, but he feared it was all an act for the hostages.

* * *

><p>Hour 14 arrived.<p>

"Brass," Brass said as he answered the phone.

"_Hey Jim. We kept a little secret from you. Money's not the only reason we're all here today."_

"Oh yeah?"

"_I'm offering you a trade."_

"Really? What kind of trade?"

"_I want to trade hostages."_

"What do you want in return?"

"_Here's the deal. I'm offering you two hostages and in return... I want a CSI."_

"You want to trade hostages? Good. How about you take me instead of another CSI?"

The hostage taker laughed. _"No thanks. I want a CSI."_

"Why?" Brass asked a bit confused.

"_I don't want just any CSI. I want Nick Stokes."_


	6. Chapter 6

Brass looked over to Nick, who was standing several feet away from him, behind the police tape. "What do you want from him?"

"_Do you know him?" _the hostage taker asked.

"I do."

"_Then go and ask him. I'll call back in five minutes and you'll better have an answer I like." _He hung up the phone.

Brass walked up to the CSIs.

"What's wrong?" Sara asked when she was Brass' face impression.

Brass sighed. "He wants to trade hostages..."

"Well that's good, isn't it? What does he want in return?"

"Nick... For two hostages."

They all looked confused. "...Why Nick?"

"I'll do it," Nick said without thinking it through for just one second.

"Wait. No," Catherine chimed in. "What does he want from Nick? We can't just let him go in there, not knowing what to expect!"

"Catherine, I'm doing this. I have to," Nick replied.

They were discussing this for a few minutes when Sara said, "Would you guys please stop for a minute and question why they want Nick? How do they know him?"

"It doesn't matter!" Nick said, "I'll safe two people by doing this and can check on Greg! I need to know if he's alright."

Catherine shook her head. "What if you're walking right into a trap?"

"They're in there for hours and didn't kill anyone. Why should they start with me? I'm doing this, end of discussion."

* * *

><p>"That's good to hear, Jim," Gus said before he hung up.<p>

_Nick? Why would he want to get Nick into this_?, Greg thought.

"Please don't drag him into this," Greg said to him, "What do you want from him?"

"Shut up, that's none of your business."

They opened the doors. Three hostages were standing there. Two walked out, the third one was patting down Nick before he walked in, making sure he had no guns on him. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, though. The hostage and Nick walked into the bank together. The first thing Nick did when he entered was nod to Greg and look quite concerned when he saw the bruises on him. He walked towards the hostage takers and when he saw them, instantly recognized one of them.

"Hello, Mr. Stokes. Would you please raise your hands for me? I know the hostage already checked for weapons, but I'd like to do it myself, too."

Nick did and Gus patted him down.

"Great, no weapons, like I expected. I'm not sure if you remember me. You're the reason one of my friends is in jail. You worked his case. I gave him an alibi, but because I served time in jail before you didn't believe me."

"Yeah, I remember," Nick replied.

"You claimed there was evidence for him to be the murderer, but I told you it was planted there by his ex-wife. You didn't believe me."

Nick nodded. "So why am I here now?"

The hostage taker threw a DVD to Nick. "Watch this. It shows his ex-wife confessing that she planted the evidence."

"...Okay." Nick was a bit confused. Was that all the hostage taker wanted from him?

"Good. You have five minutes with your friend before you have to leave."

Nick was surprised. He'll let him go. He expected to have to stay with them as a hostage. Thinking about Greg, that he had to stay in here alone, he wasn't sure he was glad he'd be able to leave in a few minutes. He walked over to him. "Hey."

"Hey," Greg said with a smile on his face.

"How are you holding up?" He sat down next to him.

Greg nodded. "Don't worry about me. It's not as bad as it looks. How's Ray?"

"He'll be fine." Truth was, Nick didn't know. Ray was in bad condition when he was on the way to the hospital and they haven't heard from him since. But he wanted to comfort Greg. "Why did they do this to you?"

Greg shook his head. "The hostage takers didn't do this. They're not violent, actually..."

"...Did they do this?" Nick pointed at the two masked men. Their hands were tied behind their backs.

"No. The hostages did."

Nick turned around to look at the hostages. They all looked like normal people. He couldn't find a reason why these people would beat up two CSIs in a hostage situation. "...Why?"

"Ray said they have Stockholm Syndrome. They identify with the hostage takers. They keep telling them sad stories about how the police did them wrong..."

Nick didn't know what to say. All the time he worried the hostage takers could hurt Greg, and now he had to worry about the hostages as well.

"I don't feel good about leaving you alone in here. Maybe I could talk to them and stay..."

"Are you out of your mind?" Greg said, almost laughing at the ridiculous idea. "I'll be fine, you have to leave."

"Maybe they're up for a trade. I'll stay so you can go," Nick suggested.

Greg shook his head. "I can't let you do that. Besides, they let you go for a reason. They want you to watch that DVD."

"Anyone can do that. I'll ask them..." As Nick got up, Greg grabbed his arm.

"Don't," he said with a fearful look on his face. "Just do what they want, okay?" He gave him an obviously fake smile. "And then everything will be okay."

"Greg, I... Alright. ...I think the time's up," he said as he saw the hostage taker signing him that he had to leave. "We'll get you out of here, okay? It's gonna be fine." He gently squeezed Greg's arm.

"Watch the DVD. I'll call Brass about it in half an hour, you got that?" Gus said.

* * *

><p>While the others were still at the scene, Nick was in the AV lab with Archie.

"What exactly does he want to tell us with this?" Archie asked. "She's obviously been forced to say all of this."

"Reed's trying to contact her, but so far she didn't find her," Nick replied. "Why do you think she's been forced to say this? She could be crying because she regrets."

"No, I don't think so... You think she's still alive?"

"...What?"

Archie zoomed in on a mirror reflection in the right corner of the screen. "Look. They're pointing a gun at her. Maybe they killed her after her... 'confession'."


	7. Chapter 7

The hostage takers said they'd end it soon, but now they were waiting for Nick to watch the DVD. Greg couldn't help but think that this was all just a way to distract the police.

"Just a little bit, people," one of the hostage takers said, "and then we'll be free."

"You know, it's awful... what happened to you two," Greg said to Corey while Gus was in a back room. "It's never easy to lose a loved one, but your own child? I can't even imagine what you were going through."

"Yeah," Corey replied with sad eyes. Several hostages were sitting near them, being able to hear their conversation. They didn't want to leave Greg unattended, fearing he might try anything. Despite some of them talking with him earlier, they still didn't trust him.

"Where did it happen?" Greg asked interested and sympathetically.

"Near Palm Springs hospital. The paramedics got there pretty quickly, but they couldn't help my little girl..."

"You said your wife got injured. How is she now?"

The hostage taker was starting to wonder why Greg was asking all these questions. "Her left leg's paralyzed..."

Some of the hostages sighed sympathetically.

"I'm sorry to hear that... When did this happen?"

"About..." he stopped. Greg was getting a bit too nosy, he thought. "Why do you care?"

"I just want to understand why you're doing this... I don't care about the money. You need it, take it. I just don't want you to hurt anyone."

"We won't. We know how much it hurts to lose someone you love. Everybody here has family and friends, we don't want them to go through what I went through."

"Good. I hope you won't change your mind."

Corey rolled his eyes a bit. "I keep my word, don't you worry."

"You know..." Greg said, now sounding much more confident than he did before, "I work for the Crime lab for over a decade now and never heard about a child being run over by a police car while they were chasing some bad guys."

Corey stared at him astonished. Even if Greg knew that they were lying, he didn't expect him to have the guts to say it. "...What did you just say?"

"In almost 15 years I never heard about a case like that in Las Vegas." He turned to the hostages. "Did you? The press would've been all over this case. We all would've heard about it."

One of the hostages walked towards Greg, but before he could reach him, Corey attacked him, punched him in the face, grabbed him by the throat and pushed him to the ground. With his hand around Greg's throat, he yelled, "Who the HELL do you think you are? Of course it happened! They were just quick to cover it up, claiming the bad guys ran them over!"

Greg tried to get the man off of him, but couldn't, due to the lack of oxygen the pressure on his throat was causing.

When the hostage taker noticed that Greg was getting trouble breathing, he loosened his grip, but didn't let go of him completely. He let go of Greg's throat, but pressed his arm against his chest, keeping him from standing up. He put his mouth close to Greg's ear to whisper to him, "We said we won't kill anybody. But do something like that again, and I'll change my mind. You got that?"

Greg nodded as Corey let go of him. He then stood up and walked away.

The hostages stood around them. Some of them didn't keep their eyes off them, others turned around, not being able to bear to look at the abuse.

When Greg propped himself up again, Corey came back. Greg winced as he got closer to him. "You know what? Maybe it's time for you to start praying that your friend proves our friend's innocence. Because if he doesn't, I know with who I want to start the killing..." He walked away. "He's trying to separate us! He lies in order to make us look bad! We can't let that happen, that's what the police does! And that's how they justify killing innocent people... Keep an eye on him, alright?" he said to the hostages.

Greg kept sitting on the floor for a few minutes. He realized it was a bad idea to confront the hostage takers with their obvious lies, but he figured it was worth a shot. He didn't expect Corey, who was the kinder one, to be that violent. When he got up he noticed a few hostages looking at him quite sympathetically. A good sign, he thought. Maybe they believed him.

A man and a woman walked up to Greg and helped him get up. "Are you alright?"

He looked surprised at them and nodded.

Corey turned around. "What are you doing?"

"Do you need anything? Water maybe?" they asked him, ignoring the hostage taker.

"Hey! I told you to keep an eye on him, not pamper him!" He walked up to them but was stopped by three male hostages.

"What the hell, man? You said nobody's going to get hurt, and yet you do this?" one of the men said, pointing at Greg.

"...He's breathing, isn't he?"

"Hardly! He didn't deserve to be treated like that!"

The hostage taker laughed humorlessly. "When some of you pummeled him and his friend earlier, nobody jumped in to defend him but us! And now you have sympathy for him? A guy working for the police?"

"It's not about sympathy. You could've killed him."

Gus entered the room and noticed that something was going on. "What's wrong?"

His partner wanted to answer, but was interrupted by one of the hostages. "We thought we agreed that there was not going to be any abuse!"

"What happened?" he asked as he went closer to the hostages.

"Your partner attacked the CSI."

"Could you give us a minute?" he asked, walking a few feet away with his partner, whispering to him. He went over to Greg, who winced again when he came closer. "It's okay..." he said as he touched Greg's face, checking if he had any serious injuries. He was rather rough with him, though. Greg had another bruise on his cheek, but other than that no visible injuries on his face. Gus also checked Greg's throat. It was bruised as well. "Okay, we apologize. It's a very stressful situation for all of us, he didn't mean to hurt him. It's not gonna happen again..."

While he said that, Corey was being pushed to the ground. "Yeah right it won't!" a female hostage said, now with a gun in her hand, pointing it at Gus, who was still holding his gun. Everybody looked at her shocked.

"What are you doing, Helen?" the hostage taker asked, while aiming his gun at her. In order to gain their trust, he asked everybody what their name was. They were all using their first names.

"I can't take this any longer! I want to go home! You claim you won't kill us. How can we trust a MONSTER that's beating up defenseless people?" she yelled with tears in her eyes.

"Put the gun down before you hurt someone," he replied calmly.

Greg slowly walked over to them. "Please, Helen. It's okay. I'm fine. Nothing happened. Put the gun down."

She looked at Greg surprised. She expected him to help her. "You're on their side?"

"Of course not. I want to get out of here, too. But that's not the right way to do it. You don't want to hurt anyone in here."

"Just let me go!" she yelled.

"How about you give me the gun?" Greg asked, slowly walking up to her.

"...Will you get us out of here?" she asked.

Greg nodded. "Sure, I'll do my best..."

"Get one step closer to her and I'll shoot her," Gus said to Greg.

Greg stopped. He knew as well as the hostage takers that Helen didn't know how to use a gun like that. It was an assault weapon, almost too heavy for her to hold. "Please just put the gun down, Helen."

She was shaking. "You promised not to kill anyone..."

"But I'm not gonna let you kill me, either," the hostage taker replied.

"You're the police, you're supposed to help us!" she yelled, now aiming her gun at Greg.

Greg raised his hands shocked.

"Helen, what are you gonna do now, huh? Shoot him? You really want the cops to storm this bank and kill everyone? Then be my guest, shoot him," the hostage taker said with a grin on his face.

At the same moment, she was tackled by hostages and went down. She dropped the gun and Corey quickly grabbed it.

Helen was now lying on the floor crying, "I just wanna go home..."

The hostage takers shared a look.

"Come on, Helen." Gus helped her up and walked with her towards the door to the vault.

"Where are you taking her?" Greg asked.

They didn't react.

"Hey! What are you doing with her?" Greg said aggressively, walking towards Gus and Helen, grabbing his arm. "She's just scared and desperate, don't do this!"

Two hostages grabbed Greg and pulled him away from them.

"What are you doing? He's going to kill her!"

One of the two hostages pushed him against a wall and whispered in his ear, "We don't know what they're doing to her, but whatever they do, she brought it on herself..." He let go of Greg as the hostage taker walked out with Helen.

Greg looked at the other hostages, but they didn't seem to feel the need to do anything to help Helen. Deep down inside he knew that they were just scared, but he hated all of them at the moment for not helping her. "So we're just gonna let her die?" he asked the hostages.

Corey walked over to Greg and slapped him. "Shut up, no one's dying."


	8. Chapter 8

Where are my usual reviewers? :) I hope you still like the story!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far! It really means a lot!

* * *

><p>"Is Stokes back already?" Gus asked on the phone.<p>

"Yes. He believes you. We all do." Brass lied, hoping to stall.

"Good. I want you to release my friend."

"There's going to be another trial, with the new evidence you gave us. But it's going to take a little while."

"That's time we don't have. That's time the hostages don't have!" he yelled. "I want him out in the next three hours!"

* * *

><p>16 hours. The hostage takers were ready to leave.<p>

All of the hostages got in position.

"Come on," Gus clutched Greg and walked with him into the circle the hostages formed.

Greg was confused. He thought they'd wait another three hours until their friend was released from jail. Brass told them that they couldn't do this, though. What were they planning now?

The two masked men were still sitting in front of the counter with their hands tied. "Hey, what about us?" one of them asked.

Neither one of the hostage takers turned around, they pretended they didn't hear them.

"Hey!" one masked man yelled. "Untie us!"

Greg looked at them confused.

"Just shut the hell up," Gus said quite calmly. "Okay, are you ready? Open the doors on three. One,..." He was interrupted by the two masked men walking up to them. Their hands were suddenly untied. Greg quickly turned around with a rather shocked look on his face.

Gus turned around as well. "What the hell?"

The taller masked man grabbed for Gus' gun. They struggled for a while. Most hostages screamed and ran behind the counter. The two masked men, the two hostage takers, Greg and five hostages were standing there now, with the hostage takers and the masked men struggling. The masked men were trying to take the guns from the hostage takers. Greg didn't know what to do. He wanted to run for cover, too, but two hostages grabbed him, making it impossible for him to get out of the situation.

"That wasn't the plan, asshole!" one of the masked men yelled at Gus, finally being able to get the gun out of his hands. He was now aiming it at Gus, while Corey was pointing his gun at him.

Greg wasn't sure what was going on right now. He was almost hoping someone would shoot, though, because this would mean that the police would storm in instantly. Now that most of the hostages were covering behind the counter, it would be the perfect moment.

"Give him the gun!" the masked man with the gun in his hand yelled at Corey.

"No way, you give him the gun!"

While they were arguing about who was giving which gun to whom, Greg tried to sneak to the cell phones when one of the hostages noticed him moving. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Greg whispered to him. "We should all take cover, they might start shooting around in here."

He grabbed Greg's arm. "I don't think they will. You stay here."

"I'm not gonna say it again. Hand him the gun before I shoot you!" the masked man yelled.

"Guys, he won't shoot. If he does, the police will storm the bank. Get him!" Gus yelled.

Four of the five hostages standing with them were slowly walking up to the masked man with the gun.

"Get away from me!" he was hectically pointing his gun at the hostages, taking steps back. The other masked man started pulling the hostages away and punching them. It didn't take long for this situation to turn into a brawl between the hostages and the two masked men. The fifth hostage joined the brawl as well. Two hostages were finally able to get the guns in their hands. Both the masked men and the hostage takers were unarmed now. They were pointing the guns into the crowd that was fighting just seconds ago. Greg stood by the side. No one was talking for a minute.

"Guys, give us the guns," Gus said, hoping they'd still feel more sympathy for them than they did for the police.

"No, give it to me," Greg said, slowly reaching out his hands while walking towards them.

"Stop!" one of the hostages with the gun yelled at Greg.

He did. "It's okay... Just hand me the guns and this will be over."

"Brian, Mitch... I can't go to jail again. My family needs me..." Gus said with sad eyes. "And we need that money..."

"What did you do to Helen?" Mitch asked, pointing his gun at the hostage takers, while Brian was pointing his at Greg.

"We tied her up. She's in the bank manager's office."

"You didn't kill her?"

"Of course not! We keep our promises!"

"Don't believe them!" Greg said.

"You, go to the office and look for Helen," Mitch said to one of the hostages. The hostage did.

They waited for her to get back. She came back without Helen, though. "She's in there. I think she's unconscious, but she's alive..."

"See? Told you she's not dead. Now give me the gun so we all can leave."

"No, hand me the gun. They're criminals. Give me the gun and we'll all be able to go home!" Greg said. "Please."

Mitch finally walked over to Greg and handed him the gun.

"Thank you..." Greg said relieved. "Now you," he said to Brian. Brian walked over to Greg, but didn't hand him the gun just yet.

"It's okay..." Greg said with a faint smile on his face.

Brian smiled as well, but instead of handing it over, he pistol-whipped him with the gun. Greg dropped to the floor. The gun was now lying a few inches away from him, so he tried to reach for it. Before he was able to put his hand on the gun, Brian forcefully stepped on Greg's hand. Gus ran over to them and grabbed the gun. "Thanks, Brian." He grabbed Greg and pulled him up. "All the time you caused nothing but trouble! I should kill you right away!" He looked at the hostages. They all looked terrified. "But I won't do it! I made a promise! You got that? No one's going to die in here!"

They all nodded. It was obvious for everybody, though, that they lost the hostage's sympathy.

"Great. Let's do this. We're leaving. And you're all going to help us get out of here!"


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you everybody for your kind reviews!

Hope you had a nice holiday, joyscott! I'm happy you enjoy this story!

Hopefully you guys will enjoy this chapter as well! :)

* * *

><p>The doors to the bank slowly opened.<p>

"Everybody in position!" Brass yelled.

Eleven hostages came out, building a barrier around the two hostage takers. They had umbrellas in their hands, covering them up. They made it impossible for the police officers to fire a clear shot.

"What the hell...?" Brass said confused. He didn't know that they were coming out now, neither did he know that they'd come out like this. He was surprised.

Two officers from the SWAT team were standing in front of the car.

"Jim, tell them to get away from the car and you'll get all the hostages!"

"Where's the rest of them?" Brass asked.

"Inside. Just do it and we can end this, finally."

Brass told his men to get away from the car. They were only a few feet away from them, though, with their weapons drawn in their direction.

Because of the hostages standing in the way and the car's tinted windows, the police didn't see what they were doing in the car. It took a while before they were ready to get inside, though.

"We're gonna drive away now, Jim. You get your hostages, and we'll be able to get out of here undisturbed, right?"

"Let me take a look at all of the hostages first."

"No."

"We're all alright," one of the hostages in the front said. "Just let them go and this will be over."

"Not for everybody, though. We'll take three hostages with us, as life insurance. We'll drop them off as soon as our friends gets out of prison."

"What? You said you'd free all of them now."

"How stupid do you think I am? I promise, they won't get hurt, but it would be better for them if you wouldn't follow us, okay? I'll contact you in a few hours. Our friend's better out of jail by then!" They got into the car. As soon as they drove off, the SWAT team entered the bank, cautious, not knowing what to expect in there, while two cars followed the car the hostage takers just drove off with.

Nick, Sara and Catherine were standing behind the police tape nervously. They didn't hear Brass' conversation with the hostage takers. As they saw several hostages leave the bank, they got more nervous. "Where is he?" Catherine asked anxious. When the last hostage left, and the masked men were carried out, tied up again, as well as Helen, a member from the SWAT team talked to Brass. He walked up to the CSIs with a face impression that let them expect the worst.

"No, Jim... Please tell me he's not..." Catherine said desperate.

"He's not in there," Brass replied.

"...What do you mean?"

"They took three hostages with them. I already expected Greg to be one of them..."

They stood there stunned. "Well... we have to get after them!" Nick said.

"We have two cars following them and a tracking device in the car, in case they lose them. We have to be very careful, we don't know what they're up to."

"So what are we gonna do now? Just sit around and wait?"

Brass nodded. "There's nothing else we can do right now..."

"I thought they wanted this guy out of jail! What happened, why did they come out?" Nick asked confused.

"They still want him released... We're only getting Greg and the hostages back if we do it."


	10. Chapter 10

Poor Greg, has to go on a road trip with the bad guys... :)

* * *

><p>The hostage takers were sitting in the front seats, the hostages in the back, with Greg sitting in the middle. Brian, the hostage who pistol-whipped Greg and took the gun from him, was sitting to his right.<p>

"Don't worry, they'll let our friend out of jail and we'll let you go," Corey, sitting in the passenger seat, said, turning around to look at Greg. "There you go, guys," he said as he looked at the other two hostages, handing them guns.

Greg stared at them confused.

"Oh come on, don't look at us like that. Leaving the bank like that was always our plan. We thought taking two hostages with us that are actually one of ours would make this all much more convenient. We couldn't know then that we'd have one of their own among the hostages." He laughed. "That's the best life insurance a bank robber can get! It also helped convince the hostages that we're the good guys and the police are the bad ones!"

It all started to make sense for Greg. They had two guys among the hostages that would talk in their favor, helping the hostages develop the Stockholm Syndrome, and it obviously worked. At least for a while.

"You were the one that started the beating," Greg said to the man to his left. "You didn't do this because of the stressed situation you were in, you did it for fun, right?"

"And I'd do it again, so you better shut up," he replied cold.

"Hey, hey, no need to scare him, alright? It'll soon be over, just relax and enjoy the ride," the driver, Gus, said mocking. Greg sighed, hoping the man would keep his word.

* * *

><p>After driving for over half an hour, they stopped in a parking block. It was multi-leveled and they stopped their car in the second last level. They all quickly got out of the car and into another one.<p>

"Why are we changing cars?" Greg asked, pretending he didn't know that they were being followed and tracked.

"You know why," Brian replied. "Don't play stupid on us."

They drove out of the parking block with the new car. Back on the road, Corey started talking to Greg. "I'm sorry for being so rough to you, but you had it coming. It was stupid of you to tell the hostages we were lying. Brave, but stupid."

The apology sounded sincere, but Greg didn't care. "What about the masked men? Were they your partners and you betrayed them?"

"Wow, you're pretty nosy," the man to his left said. He told everybody his name was Lenny.

"Come on guys, be nice to him. Yeah, these jerks were only after the money, they don't care about Neil." Neil was their friend they wanted to get out of jail. "And we don't care about them, so instead of splitting the money with them we decided to betray them."

_No such thing as honor among thieves_, Greg thought. "I think I remember the case. Neil Donovan, right?"

They nodded.

"I always knew something about this case was off, but I couldn't quite point my finger on it. I was still in training when we worked the case, I wasn't even allowed to talk to any witnesses. That's why I didn't recognize you. We've never met." Part of what Greg just said was true. He was a trainee when he worked with Nick on the case. It was a few months before Ecklie split the team. But he never thought anything about the case was off. It all made perfect sense. Neil Donovan was the murderer.

Corey turned around to him and gave him a sympathetic look. "Guys, why don't you loosen his hand cuffs a bit. He's not going anywhere, anyways."

Brian rolled his eyes, but did. "You better not exploit his kindness, you got that?"

* * *

><p>"They found the car..." Brass went into the break room where everybody gathered, waiting for some news on Greg's whereabouts. "They probably knew we were following and tracking them, so they switched cars. We have no idea where they are..."<p>

"...What now?" Nick asked, trying to keep his composure.

Brass sighed. "They're not willing to let a convicted murderer run free. They, uh... won't negotiate with terrorists..."

"What? They're willing to let three people die, just like that?" Nick said aggressively.

"Actually, we have reason to believe that the two hostages they took with them were in on the whole thing."

"What?"

"No one's reported them missing yet. And the hostages all say the same, one of them handed the hostage taker the gun when all of the bad guys were unarmed."

"I don't believe this..." Nick said desperate. "We have to do something!"

* * *

><p>After a two hour drive, they stopped. They blindfolded Greg for the last hour, making sure he would not know where they were driving.<p>

They walked him into a house, took the blindfold off and sat him on the floor next to a bed.

"We don't have to tie you up to something, do we?" one of them asked.

Greg shook his head scared. His hands, previously tied in the front, were now tied behind his back. He knew that there was no way the city would free a convicted murderer because some bank robbers wanted them to. They had a strict policy when it came to terroristic orders like that – don't obey them. He thought about telling them, but he feared what they'd do once they found out.

Corey walked over to Greg with a bottle of water. "This would be so much easier if you'd have the Stockholm Syndrome like the others had." He gave him a faint smile and let him drink some water. "You might not believe me, but I am really sorry that we beat you up... We never planned to hurt anyone."

"Thanks for the water..." Greg said. "Can't you just let me go? You have the other two, isn't that enough?"

"I'm sure by now they found out that they're one of us. No, sorry, you can't leave. But I promise, we won't kill you."

"What if they don't let your friend out of prison?"

"I don't think they'd risk your life, would they? We don't want to kill you." He stood up and walked away.

Great. That didn't help him feel safe with them. Just now, Greg noticed a smell. The kind of smell you never forget. The smell of decomposition. It was the smell of the decomposing body of Neil Donovan's ex-wife. As if Greg needed more to fear for his life.

* * *

><p>"Did you find something yet?" Catherine asked Sara as she joined her at the light table.<p>

"Neil Donovan's ex-wife, Leslie Donovan, moved to St. George a few weeks ago."

"St. George... isn't that in...?" Catherine asked as Sara finished her sentence.

"Utah. It's a two hour drive from Vegas. Reed tried to find her, but didn't know she moved. It's not official yet, but I contacted her sister, she told me."

"Contact the St. George police department, they need to check her apartment out."

"Already did. It's empty and there are signs of a break-in and a struggle..."

Catherine sighed. "What about the guy Nick recognized?"

"Kevin Dobson," she replied. That was Gus' real name. "He has family in Cedar City, Utah. It's an hour drive from St. George."

"You have an address?"

Sara shook her head. "Nothing in his file. I talked to friends of his, and they claim his mother lives there, but don't know the address. And I found his mother's death certificate. She died three months ago in a nursing home in Reno."

"Great. I doubt they're hiding in a nursing home."

"But maybe in the mother's old home. I'll call the nursing home, maybe they know where she lived."


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys! Hope you're having a good weekend!

Hope you enjoy this chapter. I can't say enough how much it means to me that you like my stories!

Big Love!

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><p>~"No, I wasn't afraid of dying. I didn't want to die, either, but..." Nick said, pausing for a moment. "At that moment, I didn't think death could be worse than what I've already been through."<p>

Greg nodded, closely listening to what Nick was saying. It was hard for him to comprehend, though. He never experienced anything similar to that before.

"It was just... I was in there for so long, dying didn't feel like a bad way out."

"Did you lose hope of getting rescued?" Greg asked with caution. He wasn't sure if it was okay for Nick to be asked that kind of questions.

"You know how they say, hope dies last? It's true. I never gave up hope that I'll get out of there. But if I'd have died in that box... It would've been okay. Being buried alive for that long does that to you, I guess..."

Greg nodded again. "And now? How do you feel about dying?"

"Different than before, I'm telling ya. I'm not afraid anymore."~

Greg opened his eyes. He's been asleep for only an hour, but it felt like much more time has passed. He wasn't rested, though. Sleeping on a wooden floor for an hour didn't help heal the exhaustion from being a hostage for almost 20 hours. Having this weird dream about the conversation he had with Nick after he was buried alive didn't help, either.

_Nick lied to me_, he thought. Sure, it's not easy to compare being buried alive to being held hostage, but it was somewhat alike. Both were held somewhere against their will for way too long and both had to fear for their lives. And yet, Greg didn't feel what Nick claimed to have felt. He was terrified of the thought of dying. Death was pretty much the worst outcome Greg could think of right now. And he did start losing hope of getting rescued. How would they find out where he was, anyways? The city would never release a convicted murderer just to save his life. And right now he had no idea how he could escape by himself. No way out. At least not alive.

"You should get some more sleep." Greg startled when he heard Corey say that. He was sitting on the bed Greg was lying next to.

Greg shook his head. He didn't want to go back to sleep, fearing he'd dream again. It wasn't a nice, comforting dream. Also, he feared he wouldn't wake up again.

"It's gonna take a while, you have to get some sleep."

"What time is it?" Greg rubbed his eyes.

"Just a few minutes after 4a.m."

"Did you call Brass yet?"

The hostage taker didn't answer.

"They're not letting him out, do they?"

"We're working on it."

_Just do it. Get it over with,_ Greg kept thinking. Staying alive in this situation was like torturing him. But he didn't want to die. He just wanted to go home. But he kind of gave up. He didn't have the strength to hope everything was going to be alright. He was tired, exhausted, bruised and sad.

"Okay... don't tell the others, alright? But... If they refuse to release Neil, I'm gonna let you go," Corey said pitiful.

Greg looked at the man in surprise. Did he just say that? Or did his mind play a trick on him? He wasn't sure.

As Greg stared at him in disbelief, Corey repeated what he just said. "I don't want to kill you. I don't want the others to do it, either. It's not your fault if they don't release him, why should you pay for it, then?"

Greg couldn't keep the tears from rolling down his face. He wasn't sure if he could believe this man, but he wanted to. "Thank you..." he muttered.

Brian joined them. "I don't think they'll do it." He had a gun in his hand. "Maybe we should just get rid of him."

Greg quickly stood up. His hands were still tied behind his back. "What? No! They're trying their best to get him out, I'm sure. It's just not as easy as you think! Give them some time! They believe you!"

"Sorry, but there's just no point to keep you here. You're nothing but a risk. This was a stupid idea to begin with." He pointed the gun at him.

"Hey, hey, Brian. We need him." Corey walked up closer to Brian and whispered to him. "Besides, I don't want to go down for killing a guy working for the police."

"Oh yeah?" Brian asked with a grin on his face. "Didn't we all agree on our plan?"

"Sure. I mean, what if they release Neil from jail, after all, and we already killed our hostage? Would make us look bad. Just wait another hour, alright? Look at him, he's too weak to do anything, anyways."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man." He walked away.

Greg slowly sunk to the floor relieved.

Corey stood up and walked towards the door. "Try to relax a bit," he said without turning around to face Greg and walked out.

* * *

><p>"Hey Jim," Gus said on the phone. "You got some news?"<p>

"_Yes. But I want to talk to Greg first."_

"How about you tell me your news first and then I'll decide if I allow you to talk to him?"

Brass paused for a moment. _"Well... Okay."_

"So?"

"_The City of Las Vegas will release Neil Donovan, but it'll take a while."_

"And what exactly is going to take a while? Just let him out!"

"_They have to get some paperwork ready and need a judge to sign, stuff like that. Four hours, tops, and he'll be a free man."_

"...Four hours, you say?"

"_What's two hours after the 20 you've already waited, huh?"_ Brass said jokingly. _"Listen, I'll do my best to speed it up, but I need to talk to Greg."_

"...Four hours, alright. I'm gonna get your friend on the phone." He walked with the cell phone in his hand into the bedroom where Greg was. "It's for you," he said as he held the phone to Greg's ear.

"...Yeah?"

"_Greg, it's Brass. Are you alright?"_

"I'm okay, yeah..."

"_I just told them. They're gonna let Neil Donovan out of jail, it'll take a few hours, but we'll get you out of here, you understand?"_

"Mhm..." Greg said, trying to choke back the tears.

Gus took the phone from him. "That's enough. And now get back to work, the sooner Neil gets out the better." He hung up.

As Gus left the room with the phone in his hand, Greg noticed something. They were just talking on the phone. Maybe Archie was able to track them down, he thought. Well-organized criminals like them might know how to prevent that, but he hoped they didn't. But was this enough to sit around here without trying to get out? Maybe it should, but it wasn't. He was trying to get the cuffs off his hands ever since he woke up. Not sure what he'd want to do once they're off, he kept on trying.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for all the reads, reviews, favorite author/story adds and stuff :) I really appreciate it!

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><p>Archie tried his best, but wasn't able to track them down through their phone. The hostage takers were smart enough to block their signal.<p>

"According to this they're in Serbia," Archie said disappointed. "Not sure what they're using to block their signal, but it's working. I can't track them down, I'm sorry..."

Without saying anything, Nick went out. He was too angry and feeling helpless, he needed some fresh air to calm down.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Reed and Brass were talking to the hostages. To the ones willing to cooperate, at least. Some of them were still feeling more sympathy for the hostage takers than for the police, despite seeing them roughing up Greg several times. Some of them would just sit next to Reed and Brass and not say a word. Others would just cry, being overwhelmed by the whole situation. But one hostage stood out from the crowd. Something was not right about her.<p>

"Ms. Hendricks, we wanted to talk to you again," Reed said, sitting in the interrogation room with her and Brass. A police officer was standing in front of the door.

"W...What's wrong? Why am I in here?" she asked confused. They talked to the others in a more casual setting. She was the only one they wanted to talk to in the interrogation room.

"You work in a nursing home, right?" Reed asked.

"I used to. I quit. Why?" she replied rather sulky.

"In Reno. You know, that's interesting. Kevin Dobson's mother died in a nursing home in Reno."

"Who's Kevin Dobson? There are many nursing homes in Reno, I don't see how that's interesting."

Reed laughed a bit. "She died in the same nursing home you worked in. You even worked the shift she died in."

"So? I don't remember her. When did that happen?"

"I think you know pretty well. Is that how you and Kevin met?"

"I've never seen these men before in my life. I'm a victim here, why are you treating me like a suspect?"

"Because you are," Reed replied coldly. "Where are they hiding?"

She just rolled her eyes. "That's ridiculous." She stood up and walked towards the door, but the police officer wouldn't let her pass.

"Sit down," Brass said.

"You have no right to keep me in here!" she said nervously.

"Do you have any idea what happens if our CSI dies? You'll all get the needle."

She stood there looking at Brass, not saying anything.

"If someone dies during a robbery, everyone goes down for murder, not just the guy pulling the trigger. We will prove that you're in on this. This is your chance for a free pass. Tell us where they are and the D.A. won't prosecute you," he explained.

* * *

><p>The cuffs were off, finally. He managed to get them off. But what now? It's been an hour since the phone call with Brass and they still didn't rescue him. They were driving for such a long time, thought, he had no idea where they were. The window shades were down, he couldn't even look outside the damn windows! Except now he could. He was walking towards the windows to take a look outside. Wasteland. He wasn't sure, judging by this view, if he was still in Nevada. It wasn't a big city, though.<p>

The door was opening. He quickly sat down and put his hands behind his back.

"Hey. You hungry?" Corey asked as he walked in with some food.

Greg was starving, but his hands weren't tied anymore. If he would say yes, Corey would want to untie him. So he just shook his head.

"Come on, eat something." He walked up to Greg and wanted to untie him. When he discovered that the cuffs were already off, he didn't react as Greg expected him to. He just got the food and placed it in front of him. "Eat up." He walked out.

_That was weird_, Greg thought. _Corey obviously really doesn't want to kill me._ But did this mean he wanted Greg to escape? _Just eat and think about that later_, he thought.

* * *

><p>FBI agents stormed the house in Colorado City, Utah. That's where the hostage, Ms. Hendrick, said they'd hide.<p>

The CSIs had to stay in Vegas, though. They were nervously waiting for some news.

Catherine's cell phone was ringing. Caller ID was Brass', he was allowed to join the FBI to Colorado City.

"Did you find him?" She put it on speaker.

"_They're gone. They probably knew we were coming. Maybe Ms. Hendricks somehow let them know."_

Everybody got worried. If they knew they were coming, did they also know that their friend wouldn't be released from jail?

"_Leslie Donovan's body was found in that house. Looks like she's been dead for a while."_

Catherine fought back tears. "Do you know how she died?"

"_She was shot. The coroner's on his way, maybe he can tell us more."_

"What are we gonna do now?" Sara asked.

"_Well first of all, I think it's a good sign they took him with them. They might still believe that Neil Donovan's going to get out. Second, the FBI's looking for evidence right now. Stay calm, we'll do our best to find him,"_ Brass said as he picked up a cell phone lying on the floor. It was the phone the hostage taker used to contact Brass with.

* * *

><p>"He's opening his eyes," a male voice said.<p>

Greg's vision was blurred and he was confused. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. He tried to slowly sit up, but a man gently pushed him back.

"Please, stay down. Can you tell me your name?"

His vision was getting clearer. He identified the man talking to him as a paramedic. He didn't answer his question, though. He couldn't.

"Do you remember what happened? You were found lying on the roadside, unconscious and badly bruised."

"...Where am I?" he was finally able to talk.

"You're in an ambulance. We found you uncon..."

Greg interrupted him. "No, I mean, what City is this?"

"We're in St. George."

"St. George? What State is this?"

The paramedic looked a bit confused. "We're in Utah."

"No, I need to get to Vegas..." he replied, still a little dozy. The effect of the drug they put in his food was slowly wearing off, but he could still feel it's effects.

"Can you tell me your name?" the paramedic asked again, but Greg was already unconscious again. "Maybe he has a concussion," he said to his colleague, wondering about why Greg needed to get to Vegas and why he didn't know which State he was in.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter. Sorry it took me so long to update :)

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><p>"A car was just found near Quail Creek State Park," Brass said over the phone. "Greg's wallet was found in it."<p>

"Any signs of... Was there blood?" Nick asked, scared of hearing the answer.

"No."

Everybody sighed in relief.

"But that's our last sight of them. They're not contacting us, either."

"Catherine's on her way to talk to Neil Donovan, maybe he can help us," Nick replied.

* * *

><p><em>What's that smell? <em>Greg opened his eyes, but his vision was blurred. He had a headache and felt nauseous. He felt awful, but at least he wasn't with the bad guys anymore. He looked around as his vision was getting clearer. He was in a hospital. There was a clock on the wall. Almost 9a.m. A nurse walked in to check on him.

"You're awake, finally." She smiled at him. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Greg Sanders," he said as he got out of bed.

"Please stay in bed." She tried to keep him from standing up.

"No, I need a phone! I'm a CSI from Las Vegas, they're looking for me!" He pulled out the infusion needle in his arm, walked to the door and opened it.

"Security!" the nurse yelled.

Greg didn't care, he walked out of the room anyways. Two security guards walked up to him.

"He pulled out the infusion!" the nurse said.

Greg turned around to her. "I don't need a damn infusion, I need a phone! I told you already, I'm a CSI from Vegas!"

The security guards grabbed him.

After being held hostage for 24 hours and being abused by the people capturing him, he was a bit sensitive to physical force. And the security guards weren't exactly gentle with him. "Get your hands off me, I just need a phone! It's important, I..."

Before he could explain, they walked him back to his bed. The nurse followed them with a syringe in her hand. "Get back to bed," she said.

He knew they were only doing their jobs and probably thought he was crazy, but he was getting nervous. Fighting back wouldn't help him now, he knew that, so he tried to repress the urge to do so. He sat down on the bed. "Listen. I'm a CSI, I work for the Las Vegas crime lab. There was a bank robbery and I was a hostage for 24 hours. I need to call Captain Jim Brass from the Las Vegas police department. They need to know I'm okay."

The security guards pinned him to the bed as the nurse was walking towards him with the syringe in her hands. "The paramedics already said he was confused and disorientated, but he doesn't have any brain damage. We're still waiting for the tox results, I'll call a psychiatrist."

"No!" Greg tried to fight the security guards off after all. "I don't need a psychiatrist, I'm not crazy!"

"He's shaking, you're sure he didn't take any drugs?" one of the security guards said. Of course, Greg was shaking because he was scared and traumatized.

The nurse injected the syringe. "Maybe it's best to strap him down."

* * *

><p>"Neil Donovan's not talking," Catherine said as she walked into the break room.<p>

Nick kicked a chair. "Dammit! He could be anywhere! He could already be dead!"

"Don't think that. We'll find him somehow!"

"Oh yeah? How? We have absolutely NO idea where they are, they could be anywhere!" Nick was very angry right now. He's been angry the whole time but now that he felt so helpless he didn't try not to show it anymore.

Catherine teared up. Everyone was emotionally on the edge at the moment, and now that they had absolutely no idea where Greg was, it was hard for them to keep their composure. She wanted to say a dozen empty phrases, trying to be optimistic. But she couldn't. She just walked out.

* * *

><p>Greg was waking up aain. A look at the clock on the wall let him know he's been out for about two hours. When he tried to sit up he noticed his hands were strapped. His strained wrist was throbbing. The straps probably injured it again. <em>Great<em>, he thought. Not only do they not believe him, they even hurt him. _Stupid hospital._

The nurse, a security guard and a psychiatrist entered the room.

"Good morning, how are we feeling?" the psychiatrist asked.

Greg rolled his eyes. "Despite the fact that I've been drugged and strapped down for no reason, I'm fine."

The psychiatrist whispered something to the nurse Greg couldn't understand.

"Please. Call Captain Jim Brass from the Las Vegas police department, they're looking for me!"

"Why don't you tell me what happened to you? Where did you get these bruises?" the psychiatrist sat down next to Greg's bed. He obviously didn't believe him.

"I work for the Las Vegas crime lab. I was investigating a break-in at a bank when it was robbed. The robbers held everybody hostage. They let everybody else go but took me with them when they fled."

"And where are the robbers now?"

"I don't know..."

"And how did you end up here? Why did they let you go?"

Greg sighed. "The last thing I remember is one of them bringing me food. I guess they put something in it."

The psychiatrist didn't believe Greg. After the nurse told him that no drugs were found in Greg's system and he wasn't drunk, he was willing to find out if he was telling the truth, after all. He told the nurse to check it while he kept on talking to Greg. "Nurse Conroy will try to find out if something like that happened yesterday. But in the meantime, let's talk a bit."

"Could you at least get me out of these straps, please?" Greg asked calmly. He was furious inside, but didn't let it show. "It hurts my wrist."

"You pulled out the infusions by yourself and wanted to leave the hospital. I'm sorry, it's for your own protection."

"I didn't want to leave the hospital. I wanted to make a phone call..."

"Why did you pull out your infusion?"

"I don't know, I... I wasn't thinking. I was..." the psychiatrist interrupted him.

"Are you prone for this type of behavior?"

"What...? No. No, I only behave like that when I'm being held somewhere against my will!" he said sarcastically.

"Please calm down, we're only trying to help you."

"I am calm, I just..."

"The bruises on your face and body... According to the doctor who treated you, it's very likely you've been beaten up. What happened? Who did this to you?"

"I already told you what happened..." Greg was getting exhausted by this pointless conversation. "The hostage takers did this..."

"If someone beat you up... You need to know it's not your fault. Protecting the people who did this to you isn't going to change anything."

Greg rolled his eyes. As much as he was getting exhausted, at least as much angry did he get. "I'm not trying to protect anyone. You just won't believe me. What I don't get is why. Why would you think I'm lying?"

"We don't think you're lying... We think you're sick. You didn't suffer any brain damage and you didn't take any drugs. We believe you have some mental disease."

"Well I don't. You're making a big mistake here..."

The nurse came back. "Doctor West, you got a minute?"

He walked over to her and they talked for a while and kept looking at Greg. They had weird looks on their faces, Greg wasn't sure what to make of it.

The psychiatrist went over to the security guard and talked to him. He left.

"Alright..." the psychiatrist said as he walked up to Greg to put the straps away.


	14. Chapter 14

Poor Greg doesn't seem to catch a break, does he? :)

Thank you all for your kind reviews! I already have a new story in store for you once this one's ended, but you'll have to be a little patient. He he. But I'll try to upload quicker now!

Enjoy!

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><p>The straps were gone, but the security guards were still standing in front of Greg's room. He wasn't allowed to leave the hospital just yet. He thought it was because of his injuries, but that wasn't the only reason.<p>

They checked the story. By reading online news. The news were quite incomplete, there was no word about CSIs being involved. They believed Greg when he said there was a hostage situation, but they had no idea what exactly went down. For all they know, Greg could be one of the bad guys. Right now they were waiting for the police to show up. St. George was a small town, though, but the police was kind of busy right now. It took them some time to come here and deal with something trivial like a possible bad guy from Nevada. Greg had to wait.

"Excuse me," Greg said as a nurse went in. "I asked to use a phone. It's really important."

"I'm sorry, that's not possible at the moment. Just wait for the doctor, he should be here in a while."

Greg rolled his eyes. He was being put off like that for hours. Why wasn't he allowed to use a phone and tell everyone where he was? They said they contacted someone at the LVPD but he didn't believe them, and they really didn't. They treated him like a suspect and didn't think it was necessary to contact anyone in Las Vegas. They weren't even sure if Greg had anything to do with the hostage situation, they still thought it was possible he was lying or mentally ill and making something up. The doctors decided to wait for the police before they do anything else.

"What are the security guards still doing out there?" Greg asked while the nurse was checking on his infusion.

"It's mandatory, don't worry about that."

"Mandatory? I doubt they're standing in front of every hospital room. What's going on? You do believe me, right?"

"Just stay calm, I'm sure it'll all be cleared up in a while."

Cleared up? What the hell was she talking about? Now he was sure they didn't believe him. Arguing with them wouldn't help, though, so he decided to just wait for something to happen.

* * *

><p>Sara walked into the break room. She just received a call from Brass. They were still trying everything to find Greg. She had tears in her eyes. "Brass got a call from a hospital in Parowan. It's about an hour drive from Quail Creek State Park, where they found the car and Greg's wallet. A man died in that hospital half an hour ago, his description fits Greg... Brass is on his way to check it out..." She sighed.<p>

Nobody knew what to say to that news. Sara sat down next to the others.

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><p>"Mr. Sanders." Two police officers walked into his room. They woke him up.<p>

Greg looked at them a bit confused. "Did you talk to Captain Brass?"

"Why don't you tell us what happened?" one of them asked rather annoyed. They thought they had better things to do than to talk to a confused guy who thinks he was a hostage in Las Vegas. At least that's what they thought Greg was. Just a confused guy looking for attention.

He explained everything. He gave them the short version, though, because he wanted to get out of this hospital room as quick as possible. "Can I go now?"

They shook their heads. "We need to check with the Captain first."

"Then why don't you just call him? I can give you his number."

"We mean OUR Captan. Captain Coburn. He wants to talk to you before you're being discharged. If you're being discharged, that is..."

"...If...?" Greg was getting really angry. "Are you gonna arrest me?"

"No, Sir. We need to wait for the Captain."

"Well in that case... There's no need for me to sit around in this bed!" He stood up and walked towards the door, but instead of getting the infusion needle out, he took the I.V. pole with him this time.

"Where are you going, Mr. Sanders?"

"I'm in this god damned hospital for hours, I'm gonna make a phone call now!" When he opened the door, the two security guards were standing in front of him. He walked pass them, but they held him back.

"Get your hands off of me! I'm not under arrest, you have no right to keep me here!" He struggled with them, but stopped when he noticed a patient that was just taken in. He was rolled in on a gurney. His face was smeared in blood, it was hard to recognize this patient, but Greg thought he did recognize him. He wasn't sure, though. "Who's this?" he asked as he wanted to follow him, but was restrained by the security guards and police officers. He was carried back into his room. Three of the four men made sure he kept lying on the bed while the fourth was strapping Greg on the bed with hand cuffs.

"What are you doing?"

"Mr. Sanders, you're under arrest. If that's what it takes to keep you in here..."

At the same moment, Captain Coburn walked in. "What's going on?"

"He tried to leave," one of the security guards explained.

"I didn't, I..." Greg sighed. It really did seem pointless to argue with them. "Please... Call Captain Jim Brass from the Las Vegas police department..." Greg had tears in his eyes.

"I need to ask you a few questions..." Captain Coburn said, sitting down next to Greg's bed.

* * *

><p>Brass prepared for the worst when he was in Parowan, taking a look at the dead body that fitted Greg's description. The pathologist took the sheets off the dead man's face.<p>

Brass shook his head. "No... That's not him." He sighed in relief. "Thank you." He put his cell phone out to tell Catherine and the team about the good news. At least they could still hope to find Greg alive. After he hung up the phone, he sat down in the hospital waiting room. He was exhausted. Every lead they followed turned out to be a dead end. His cell rang. "Brass."

"_Captain Brass, this is Captain Coburn from the St. George police department. We have a suspect in custody who claims to have something to do with a hostage situation in Vegas two days ago. He asked us to contact you."_

Brass was speechless for a moment. They tried everything to find Greg and now he got a phone call like that? Seemed almost like a wonder! "Where is he?"


	15. Chapter 15

Okay, last chapter! Please tell me if you enjoyed this story! Reviews really mean a lot to me and often help me with my next story! :)

Thanks for reading and now have fun reading the last chapter!

Big Love!

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><p>Brass hurried to the hospital the suspect Captain Coburn talked about was in. He hoped that the suspect could help them find Greg - he had no idea that the suspect actually WAS Greg! Captain Coburn didn't tell him Greg's name – mostly because he wasn't sure it was his real name, and Brass forgot to ask for it. He was too excited. He prepared to interrogate a suspect. All the anger and tension he felt was getting stronger. But it all quickly faded away when he stormed into the hospital room and found Greg, strapped to his bed, wearing handcuffs.<p>

"...Greg," Brass said. The surprise was obvious on his face.

"Thank god you're here!" Greg exclaimed with tears of joy in his eyes.

The anger was back again. "Why the HELL is he cuffed?"

"He tried to leave the hospital twice. He's a suspect, so..." Captain Coburn got interrupted.

"He's NOT a criminal! He's a CSI! Uncuff him!" Brass yelled.

The police officer waited for Coburn to approve Brass' demand. He did, and the officer uncuffed Greg.

Brass walked over to Greg and gently patted him on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

He nodded with a faint smile on his face.

Brass smiled as well. He took his cell phone out and dialed Catherine's number to tell everybody that Greg was okay. After that, Greg told Brass what happened and how he got here. He also told him about the patient he thought he'd recognized. "I'm not sure, but I think he might be one of the hostage takers..."

Brass nodded. "I wanted to talk to your doctor, anyways. I'll ask him about this patient while I'm at it. I'll be back in a minute, alright?"

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><p>"He got very lucky. A few minutes later and he would've been dead," Brass said. Him and Greg were standing in front of an intensive care unit room, looking in through the window.<p>

Greg had a concerned and pitiful look on his face. "What happened to him?"

"The doctor said he has multiple blunt force trauma to the head and face... His whole body, actually. They probably beat and kicked him. Then they shot him. He was found just a few miles from where you were found," Brass tried to explain.

"Will he going to be fine?"

"The doctors are optimistic, but they're not sure yet. He nearly bled to death and has a concussion."

As Greg stared through the window into the room, Brass noticed a look. A guilty look. "It's not your fault. He knew what he was getting into."

"I know... But I don't think I would've made it out alive if it wasn't for him. Corey was the only one of them who was nice to me. He saved my life and now... he's fighting for his own."

Brass started to wonder if Greg developed the Stockholm Syndrome, too. "Nice? Several hostages said he attacked you in the bank."

"Because I provoked him. He even apologized for it." Greg sighed. "But that's not the point. He doesn't deserve to die."

"Alright, let's get you out of here and back home. The doctors will tell us if anything about his condition changes and he'll be moved to Vegas once he's feeling better."

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><p>"Hey, Hot shot!" Nick walked up to Greg with a smile on his face. "You're back?"<p>

"Yeah..." he said with a sheepish smile. "Catherine's a bit too caring, I don't need any sick days."

"Yeah but it happened just yesterday. You should've gone home and gotten some rest. One day off can work miracles, you know."

"I don't need any rest, I'm fine. Besides, there's still enough work to do."

"So how're you doing? Were you able to get some sleep last night?" Nick asked as he walked with Greg through the hallways.

"Like a baby. I guess whatever they gave me continued having an effect on me."

"The robbers or the doctors?"

"Both, probably." Greg laughed a bit. He walked into ballistics. "Hey Bobby, I got something for you," he said quite upbeat, handing Bobby a bullet fragment.

"Thanks," he replied a bit surprised. "You're already back to work?"

Greg smiled. "Yeah." He walked towards the exit.

"Well, welcome back, then!" Bobby said before getting back to work.

"Thanks!" he replied as he walked out.

"You're in a good mood, huh?" Nick asked, still following him.

Greg stopped, turned around to Nick and patted him on the shoulder. "Everybody made it out alive. The bank manager's going to make a full recovery, Ray will be released from the hospital tomorrow, why shouldn't I be in a good mood?" He kept walking again.

Nick shrugged. He was right, he thought. "Any word on how the hostage taker's doing?"

Greg shook his head.

Sara walked up to them. "Hey guys. Catherine just talked with the D.A. They're not going to prosecute the hostages that attacked you and Ray."

Everyone stopped walking.

Greg didn't say anything for a moment, but then said, "If the D.A. thinks it's not a good idea to prosecute, it probably isn't."

"Wait a minute." Nick grabbed Greg's arm before he could walk away. "They beat Ray into the hospital and you don't think they should be prosecuted for what they did?"

"Well, first of all, the hostages didn't start anything. The robbers disguising themselves as hostages did. And second, the D.A. knows it's a case you can't win. They'll claim they did it because of the emotional stress they went through... and maybe that's the real reason."

"Some of them didn't apologize for what they did and didn't want to cooperate with the police after they were released. I don't think they did anything because they were stressed out, Greg," Sara said.

"Ray said it's common that hostages feel positive towards their captors when they develop the Stockholm Syndrome, even after they've been released. I don't get it, either, but they still feel like we were the bad guys."

"Well, aren't you kind of angry with them?" Nick said, finding it hard to understand how Greg could see this so rational.

"Maybe a little. But anger's not changing anything, does it? These hostages are not dangerous when they're not being, well, held hostage. They don't belong in jail. I'd rather see the hostage takers behind bars. Too bad we can't help finding them."

"The FBI's taking care of it, don't worry. They can't hide forever, they'll find them sooner or later. Let's just hope this Corey guy will be able to talk soon," Sara said with a smile on her face as she walked away.

"I gotta say, man, I'm proud of you, how you're handling this," Nick said, patting Greg on the back.

"Thanks," Greg replied sheepishly. "I'm not angry with the hostages... But this nurse and the psychiatrist at the hospital in St. George... You think I could sue them? You know, get a few million bucks and stuff? Buy a mansion, maybe a yacht. Could work miracles with the ladies, don't you think?" He joked as he walked with Nick through the hallways.

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><p>Ende.<p> 


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